by Chris | Nov 6, 2015 | Artist 2 Artist
I don’t have kids. Heck.. I don’t even have one kid. But since I recently passed out of my 20s it seems like so many people in my social circle are taking the plunge into parenthood.
When you’re an outsider looking through the window in at parenthood it’s hard to get a read on what’s really happening. One day it seems like complete perfection, but then after a morning of sleeping until 10:30 because I’ve had a late show the night before… I can’t help but wonder… how I could possibly handle being responsible for a whole other life!
It’s another one of those impossible questions to answer: what is my life going to be like when I add the ‘kid’ factor? But like so many of the impossible questions out there, I feel like if you put enough stories together… you usually start to see a pattern.
So I’ve hit the streets to talk to artists.. artists who have started families in the last few years.. to talk about some of the early costs and incredible rewards of kids.
Today, it’s Mel’s turn.. she’s part of a two artist parenting team. They’ve got two beautiful kids, and she was kind enough to take a few moments of her precious time to answer a few of my questions. (more…)
by Chris | Nov 3, 2015 | Living with Variable Income, Variable Income
It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s a big book of variable income?
Regular readers will notice that I’ve been gabbing on about variable income a lot over the last month. I remember so clearly how much of a block it was for me… how do I manage my money when I don’t know when it’s coming, or how much.
And I assume I’m not the only one.
So I’ve compiled some of my variable income success stories into a big (but compact… don’t worry) resource that you can check in with, and pass on to anyone you know who is struggling with making the money work.
If you like the format be sure to subscribe (in the sidebar, or below the post) because I’ll be sending one out every month on a new topic!! Fun right?
But until then enjoy…
THE BIG BOOK OF VARIABLE INCOME
by Chris | Oct 29, 2015 | Variable Income
Variable income is a real challenge when it comes to managing your finances as a freelancer. But just because something's a challenge doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
How many times have I heard…
“Budgets just don’t work for me… my income is too variable.”
“I can’t make automatic debt payments because… well… variable income.”
“There’s no way I could possibly do jury duty… don’t you know that I have VARIABLE INCOME… GEEEEEEZZ.”
I’ve heard it … because it comes out of my own mouth sometimes, too.
But here’s the thing … it’s not true. You can do all the same financial stuff that every one else does. You just might have to figure out a way to do it that makes sense with how you spend money.
THE FIRST ROADBLOCK: YOU’RE SPENDING IT WRONG
I don’t mean that you’re spending it in the wrong places. I mean that you’re spending it at the wrong time.
One of the hardest things about variable income is that you have no idea how much is coming in from month to month (duh)… so how can you make any sort of plan?
Regular income earners know exactly what’s coming in every month, that way they can make decisions about how much to save, how much to spend, all that fun stuff.
You may not have any idea if this month is going to be amazing or an exercise in coupon clipping.
So what’s a freelancer to do?
SHIFTING THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM….
What if you could know on the first of every month how much you have to spend that month?
Then you could make a plan, right? If it was a lot, you would know that you could save some… maybe chip away at the old debt. And if it was a low month you would know to keep your eyes open for sales on ground beef.
Sounds pretty perfect.
Well, you can.. if you just shift your spending. Instead of spending money as it comes in, you spend what you make this month…. Next month.
It's a trick I learned from the good folks at YNAB. Every month you only spend what you made the month before… it’s still a variable amount, but suddenly you’re able to budget and know if you can afford to save/pay down your debt.
WHEN YOU TAKE OUT THE VARIABLES… ALL YOU HAVE LEFT IS INCOME
I’m sure you’re thinking… "that’s all well and good to say, but it’s harder to actually do."
How do you make that transition? How do you handle months when you don’t make anything at all?
Patience.
The transition takes time. It took me around 6 months to be able to shift over from living "month to month" to a "live off last month’s income" format.
What you do is slowly save a full month’s income, and when that’s ready you make the switch.
On the month you switch tactics you’ll live off the money you saved up, and then when the first of the next month comes around… you’ll have (hopefully) another pile of money ready to budget and spend.
Don’t know how much ‘a month of income’ is?… no worries… fill out this handy dandy worksheet to get your monthly spending number!!: WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER WORKSHEET
WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU DON’T MAKE ENOUGH IN A MONTH… TO GET YOU THROUGH THE NEXT MONTH?
That’s always a risk. It happens to me all the time when I don’t bring in enough to cover my base costs for the next month.
I’ve written about the system that gets me through the dry times, and you can read more about it HERE.
But what I will say is at least with this basic idea of living off last month’s income… you’ll be able to see those months coming. Actually, the dry month isn’t so bad because, remember, you’ll be living off the last month’s income (it’s the month that comes after that’s reeeeal rough).
In those cases you can supplement your income from an EMERGENCY FUND or PAYROLL BUFFER… which you can add to a little bit at a time on the months when you can afford to save.
SIMPLE?… NO. POSSIBLE?…YES.
You might be sitting there thinking: “That doesn’t sound easy at all”.
Well, once it’s running it’s actually super easy, but ya… it does take a little effort to set up. I’m not saying that it’s simple, but it’s not impossible.
But is it ‘easy’ to live paycheque to paycheque?
Is it ‘easy’ to deal with the uncertainty of every month wondering if you’re going to make it?
What’s ‘easy' is assuming that things always have to be this way.
That’s the hard truth.
Want to start getting control of your money? How can I help?
Financial Planner/Opera Singer
Money never came naturally to me. In fact... I was a bit of a disaster. I remember (very clearly) what it feels like to be 'financially out of control'.
And honestly, I still get stressed about money... that doesn't stop... the difference is that now I have the tools to deal with that stress.
And those tools are what's made it possible for me to build a life full of the things I want: art, creativity, travel, family and more.
If you want to start getting control of your money I'd love to help. You can start with THIS QUIZ, visiting my GETTING STARTED PAGE by checking out my SERVICES page.
by Chris | Oct 27, 2015 | Money Meditations
Ladies and gentleman… today is the greatest day of the year… I know we’ve had some great ones so far, but this one trumps them all.
It’s the opening of the NBA season. That’s right, basketball is BACK!!!
Now, I’m a huge basketball fan, but I’m an absolutely terrible basketball player. I can’t do anything.
So I pour all of my energy into being a fan. And because I’ve been absorbing all the pre-season podcasts and ‘crazy prediction’ posts, my brain has melded basketball in with all my personal finance thinking and created a truly ungodly metaphor.
Personal finance as the good old game of basketball…
And honestly, it’s less of a stretch that you might think (so bear with me).
There are two ways you can win a basketball game… by your offence or by your defence (there’s technically a third way, but it has to do with being Lebron James… so for most of us that’s probably not a realistic goal).
And on the financial side of the metaphor there are two ways you can win your money battle and finally fix those finances: earn more… or spend less.
So what kind of a money player are you? (more…)
by Chris | Oct 25, 2015 | Money Meditations
Okay. Confession time.
I don’t want to be rich.
I have no interest in it, and here’s the thing… I don’t think most of you want to be rich either.
I think that if you really wanted to be rich you’d be doing a lot of things differently. You might have gotten a different kind of education (not that general/science degree, or the opera school diploma that I’m rocking). You might also think a little less about how much you’d like to SPEND a million dollars, and might be taking more time to try and actually SAVE a million dollars.
Honestly, I think if you really thought about it, you’d have to admit that most of the things you do aren’t really helping you “get rich”.
That’s okay… I’ve come to terms with that fact for myself.
What I really want is to have the freedom to live one of those… what are they called… lives that fulfill me.
“Wait…” you might say “but wouldn’t money help a whole ton with that whole ‘freedom’ thing? Isn’t that the whole Findependance (financial independence) thing that the internets keep talking about?”
Excellent point, faceless stranger. Yup, and I’m going to need some sweet bucks to get there, but money is just the tool… it’s not the goal. And when I realized that, it kind of changed the whole game. (more…)
